be in for a rude awakening
Meaning: To be about to discover an unpleasant truth.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Anyone expecting cheap rents in that city is in for a rude awakening.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: A sleeper woken suddenly and roughly. "Rude" here keeps its older sense of harsh or abrupt. The phrase is common from the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- German: Sein blaues Wunder erleben — literally: To experience your blue wonder
More idioms — Daily Life
- carry coals to Newcastle — To do something completely unnecessary.
- hunky-dory — Perfectly fine.
- the morning after the night before — A hangover, and the regret that comes with it.
- behind the scenes — Out of public view, where the real work or decisions happen.
- kick up a fuss — To complain loudly and cause a commotion.
- cry at the drop of a hat — To burst into tears very easily.
More English idioms
- be over the moon — Absolutely delighted.
- rub salt in the wound — To make someone's pain or humiliation worse.
- tread on someone's toes — To offend someone, especially by interfering in what they see as their business.
- get under someone's feet — To be in the way while someone is trying to work.
- been there, done that — Said of an experience one already knows well, often with a shrug.
- think outside the box — To find an unconventional solution.
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